Whisper in the Trees
by TheFlame-Burned-OutButIt-Glows
Summary: "Wind, take me somewhere!" Jack had always though that he had controlled the wind but what if that wasn't true? All of his lonely experience had been accompanied by a silent spectator that was always there for him and sentenced to serve. Something changed one day though, something that forced a bitter spirit of air to meet Jack, who she knew so well but had not spoken to once.
1. Chapter 1

Just an idea that came into my mind and wouldn't get out until I typed it up. Let me know what you all think~

I do not own Rise of the Guardians no matter how much I want to.

…

The Man in the Moon was thought to be all-knowing, to be a guide to all spirits in their path to finding their center. He was the person who decided who became a spirit and which spirits were granted the honor of gaining the title of a Guardian. He was one of the first spirits. And some of the first spirits that he created…. Were the seasons.

Summer. Fall. Winter. Spring.

A cycle that never ended; connected yet so different. I was the first, original winter spirit….

Oh, the power that I had wielded, the things that I had accomplished. I was so proud of my abilities. I had thought that I could only get stronger and better.

But all things have to have a beginning and an ending….. Just as the cycle of the seasons goes on so does the cycle of power. For you have to be low to rise, and high to fall.

If only I had realized the true order of things… if only I had not been so foolish as to challenge the one person that gave me my powers. The 'if onlys' and 'what ifs' go on and on for me…. No, it is useless to dwell on these things now that they have happened. I can only accept my follies and hope to redeem myself.

Service was my sentence, and selfishness was my sin.

I was condemned to silent… no, to be a whisper in the trees and a mere servant to a 'greater being'.

My name is Whisper, and I'm the silent spirit of the howling wind… the Man in the Moon told me so.

…

"_I...I didn't mean too! Give me another chance please! I'm begging you….please," a figure pleads desperately to the luminous moon, the big round sphere seeming to fill up the sky and bear down on the beaten teenage girl. _

_ "No. You have crossed the line with this; there is no going back for you. Your new name will be Whisper and from now on you will be demoted to the silent spirit of the air, never to interfere again. The only job that you have left will be to assist the new winter spirit. They will be far more worthy of their powers than you and are destined to do great things. You have five hundred years to prepare yourself," a stern voice commands in her mind and the pool of moonlight shining down on the figure begins to recede. _

_ A broken sob tears from the girl's throat as she feels the power being cruelly torn from her being, unheeding of her cries. It hurt her, the agony of feeling a part of herself return to the being that had bestowed it to her. "DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS!" the spirit wails in a desperate last attempt for redemption. She had been hoping for relief, for forgiveness…. But all she received was a condemning whisper that shattered her broken heart._

_ "You only got what you deserve, Whisper."_

_ Whisper lays there for a long time, not that she knows that. Grief and agony thrums through her like blood but underneath all of that is a burning anger. And it rises. Oh, it rises so high. Wind begins to whip up around her, disturbing the landscape as a howl begins to build up from the force of the current. It responds to her anger…. Her betrayal. Because even as she knows that she is wrong she wants so badly to be right. _

_Why, she thinks desperately, why did this happen to me? I have done __**nothing**__ wrong. All I wanted was to change things for the better, I wanted to be recognized! Is that so bad? Apparently it is. "Fine," she snarls, the wind whipping around her in response and trees begin to keel over from the force. "I'll do your stupid sentence. I'll serve this replacement. But don't for one moment think that I'm going to give up on becoming stronger. I'll get revenge one day. Your precious new winter spirit will just be destroyed in the process." Whisper pushes off of the ground, breaking through the web of dead branches that block her way, uncaring of the scratches now covering her form. Her partial freedom will only last one year and she is going to use up as much as she can. Then, the ex-winter spirit will decide how great this new chosen one will be herself._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hehe... this update took a while. My excuse was that I didn't know exactly where this story was going. In fact, still don't quite know. I'm kind of playing it by ear. Let me know what you think~ Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, the usual. R&R!

I own nothing. Except a pack of gum. And clothes. Clothes are helpful.

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><p><em>A menacing figure appears as they say in a dark voice, "I have to say this is very, very exciting." The Guardians look up and see the man that North had suspected had come back all along wearing a satisfied smirk. "The Big Four all in one place. I'm a little star struck." <em>

"_Trust me, I was too, but they aren't that great of a bunch," an invisible spectator comments even though no one can hear them. "They have sticks so far up their asses that I'm surprised they even know what children are." Whisper flies next to him and lets a breeze crawl down his spine, taunting him silently and hoping that someone would recognize her. Much to her disappointment, he doesn't even shiver and she heaves a loud sigh. _

"_Did you like my show on the globe, North? Got you all together, didn't I?" Pitch asks conversationally. _

_Tooth finally can't handle the fact that her fairies were taken by the Boogieman. She darts closer to the man and snaps, "Pitch, you have got thirty seconds to return my fairies!" He disappears as he walks languidly into the shadows._

"_Or what?" Pitch questions, a dark undertone hinting at his voice. He appears near one of Tooth's tooth box columns and continues mockingly, "You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?" _

"_Hey, who knows, she might take your teeth. Imagine that, a Boogieman without teeth," Whisper comments. _

_North gestures at Pitch with his swords and demands, "Why are you doing this?" _

"_Maybe I want what you have. To be believed in." Whisper's shoulders slump slightly at the comment and she notices that her charge sympathizes almost with the Guardian's enemy. _

_A bitter smile curls the wind spirit's lips. "Hey, you're better off than I am. Then again, this isn't that hard to beat." Pitch walks along the walls and shadows before appearing from behind a column. _

"_Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds, barely a step higher than that invisible current," the Boogieman leans forward threateningly and Whisper tenses up. A snarl bends her features. _

"_I'm better than you, don't forget that, Pitch! I may be weak now but I'll get everything back soon! _

_Everyone else looks confused but Bunny still takes a step forward and snaps, "Maybe that's where you belong." _

_The King of Nightmares makes a noise of disgust and dismisses him with a comment of, "Ah, go suck an egg rabbit." The voice comes from below the Guardians and they look down to see him disappear again. _

_Whisper knows that Pitch is in control, easily avoiding the Guardians and their tag along, disappearing in the shadows only to emerge from another. His echoing taunts only serve to egg them on, pushing them farther towards rashness. _

"_Hang on, is that…. Jack Frost? Is your little servant with you?" he asks in disbelief, laughing once he recognizes the spirit. Whisper settles next to her charge, listening to the exchange with narrowed eyes. She may dislike her replacement but he was hers to decide what to do with, not some pedophile that hides under kids beds. "Since when are you all so chummy?" _

"_We're not," Jack informs him warily. _

_He appears in one of the columns and comments, "Oh, good. A neutral party. Then I'm just going to ignore you. But you and your shadow must be used to that by now." Everyone is baffled now, none of them aware of Whisper staring at Pitch in astonishment. The object of her attention notices everyone's confusion and laughs mockingly. "What? Did your precious Man in the Moon never tell you what happened to the original?! How rich! If the Man in the Moon doesn't want you to know, what's the point of me telling you? " _

_Whisper is shaking with slight rage. "They don't even know what they caused! They don't even know what they __**did to me**__! How dare you?!" She screams at the sky. Still, no one hears her, not even the confused and lost winter spirit that she was forced to serve. _

…

Jack walks along the ice of Antarctica, puzzling over the confusing things that Pitch had mentioned. Winter had left Burgess so Jack had left to go to his next favorite place, no one is here and it's always cold. The Boogeyman had continuously mentioned some invisible person, someone that was constantly with him. If someone had asked him, he would have told him that the idea honestly freaks him out. Whisper floats next to him, creating low currently that stirs up the snow coating the land slightly. "What's bugging you so much Ice Princess?" she grumbles loudly, knowing that he won't hear her. "I've had nothing to do since you've been _moping _here for the past week! I mean, going around making the wind blow around the world can only amuse someone for so long, especially since I have to check up on your ass constantly." The wind spirit never left Jack for long, not anymore. She had long ago decided that Jack would be hers to use once she tried to rise to power again, and **no one** would do that before her and her replacement got a certain thrill from getting into trouble. Damn adrenaline drunkie.

The winter spirit in question notices that the wind stirs the air and he pushes a sigh through his pale lips. It had been a long time since he had discovered that he could use the wind to his advantage but he would be still be hesitant to say that he could _control_ it. Jack had learned the hard way the asking the wind for permission was the best way to get around. A grin lifts up at his lips at the memory; the wind hadn't listened to anything he had wanted to do for a whole month. As soon as he asked, _nicely_, though out of sheer desperation it lifted him up and took him places he had never seen before. That was how the immortal spirit had found Burgess. Eh, strange coincidences right?

"_I'm so booored_," Whisper groans, her patience long gone.

Jack swings his staff in an arc to create a flurry of snowflake and wonders aloud, "I wonder if I should go somewhere…. I've taken care of everywhere that needs snow and messing around in the cities doesn't seem like a lot of fun right now."

"Finally! Yeah, let's go somewhere, anywhere but here!" Whisper eggs on. "How about Beijing? I _love_ messing with them; it's hilarious to watch them run after things blowing away, screaming Chinese!" she adds excitedly, ignoring her charge's previous statement.

The winter spirit nods to himself and murmurs, "Yeah… maybe I should go visit." He looks up, an excited grin making way on his lips. "How about it wind?" A breeze kicks up in response, twisting it around his form teasingly. Jack lets out a laugh and adds, "Okay, wind, take me to North's!" Whisper does as he commands but lets a groan pass through her lips.

"You'll never hear the end of it though! Easter this, Christmas that! My holiday is more important and you know it! Blah, blah blah. They haven't changed in the 1,000 years that I've known them. I thought you were better than this Jack," the wind spirit complains unabashedly, rolling her eyes once her company doesn't show any recognition to her statement. "Oblivious as ever I see."

"Who knows, maybe something exciting will be going on and I can sneak the sleigh out of there," Jack comments to himself.

A grin edges up Whispers lips and she blows a current through Jack's white hair. "Now you're getting the idea, Ice Princess."

…

It hadn't taken long to get close, especially with Jack's _addiction _to speed, but the sky was dark since it was so late in the night. Whisper rolls her eyes at him but she would easily admit that it had been fun to travel at high speeds. The rolling planes of ice fly beneath them and Jack whoops excitedly as he loops in the air. Whisper shakes her head at the teen but continues to allow him to perform tricks with her wind. The wind spirit didn't really _mind_ her replacement all that much but it would be a far cry to say that she felt anything like companionship with him. She just figured out a long time ago that it would be easier if everyone got along. As long as he wasn't that much of a prat, she would be fine with him using her wind until she gained her power back.

North's Workshop comes into view and Whisper allows a whistle to blow through her lips. The ex-winter spirit would be one of the first to admit that as much as she hated the spirit of Christmas, he had a killer place to work. The reindeer weren't that bad either, as long as you kept your distance. "Show me what you've got, wind!" Jack laughs challengingly and Whisper narrows her eyes.

"You asked for it," she clucks and lets loose a blast of power that pushes the current her ward is riding on to dangerous speeds. Jack merely lets out yells of excitement, adrenaline coursing through him like blood. He bursts into the globe room through a conveniently opened window, peals of laughter escaping him.

Whisper lands on the rail facing the globe, her hands holding onto it tightly. The dots of golden light make a whimsical look take over her features. "One day…," she promises herself. "One day that'll be for me." Everyone will know my name, she continues inside her head.

"Jack! So good to see you! Eggnog?" The spirit of wonder greets in his booming, slightly accented voice as he enters the room. "What brings you here?" The Yeti's nearby grumble and talk in their language, no doubt complaining about said winter spirit.

Whisper grimaces and mutters from her crouched position on the railing, "Always hated that stupid accent."

"Got bored, anything interesting for me to do?" Jack taps his bare foot impatiently, needing something interesting to do before he starts to cause havoc.

North grins the teen, a fond look twinkling in his blue eyes. "I can't say I do, I've been very busy getting ready for Christmas, you know, it is the-."

"-most important holiday of the year," Whisper speaks over him mockingly, making a noise of disgust in the back of her throat. "Christmas would be nothing without winter."

Jack slumps his shoulders forward before waving his staff around and suggesting, "Maybe I can test out some more new toys of yours." Whisper perks up, personally liking the idea. Especially the result.

The Russian laughs loudly. "Of course not, are you crazy?! Half my shop was destroyed because of last time! No. No more testing toys for you."

The winter spirit groans in disappointment. His invisible companion rolls her eyes, going to slap him on the back of the head. Her hand phases through him and it recoils just as quickly as the feeling washes over her.

A shriek of outrage falls from her lips and a wind whips up slightly. North and Jack look around in surprise before North fixes Jack with a look. "I told you not to cause trouble in my shop, yes?"

Frost shrugs. "It isn't me." Whisper finally jumps down from her perch, fury still rolling across her features.

"It's me! I'm doing this!" she snaps, getting close to Jack.

"How can it not be you? You're the winter spirit!" North responds, his tone incredulous.

"Well, about that, I don't exactly _control_ the wind. It just helps me."

The wind spirit lets another yell escape her, stalking back to the railing. "I would never help you if I had any choice," she sneers, letting her rage boil up even more. "I'm above this! I should never be unseen!" Her voice gets louder and louder. "I DON'T DESERVE THIS!" Her fist slams down on the railing and the wind becomes calm suddenly.

"You should work on that," North advises in a wise tone and Jack just stares at him blankly. The invisible teen shrieks one more time at his words, falling to her knees at the pain and loneliness she's feeling.

"Still not me."

"Please," she begs quietly, looking towards the moon now in the sky. "Please, I just don't want to be alone anymore. Haven't I suffered enough? I won't be like before. I swear. Just give me one more chance….. I just want one more chance." Whisper waits a moment for anything, zoning out Jack and North talking. The moon remains unresponsive; it's resident deeming her not worthy. A huff leaves her lips and she gets back up to her feet, suddenly feeling foolish.

"Of course," she mutters. "You haven't talked to me ever since you banished me to this. COWARD!" Of course the Man in the Moon wouldn't respond to her. How could someone so high and mighty lower themselves to talk to someone who did so many things wrong like her? All of her anger finally drains from her, leaving her feeling hollow. "Fine, I get it. I did something wrong! What do you want me to say, huh?" She begins to pace, unaware of the moon seeming to become brighter. "That this isn't unfair? Fine." She stops again, staring up at the moon. "I did a lot of things wrong and never got punished. I got cocky and went too far. I deserve this, okay? Are you happy now?! I DESERVE THIS!"

A beam of moonlight shines done, enveloping the fuming wind spirit. Her chest heaves and she looks down in shame. Whisper sinks down into her thoughts, ignoring everything else.

"Norrrrth, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Jack questions, staring at the circle of moonlight on the floor. No, not the circle, more importantly, the shadow of a woman in it.

"Yes," North hums. "Man in Moon, what you need tell us?" The beam moves upwards and Whisper finally takes notice of what's going on.

"Oh, what now?!" she snaps, whirling around and seeing the shadow in the circle. The words on her tongue die off as she stares in shock.

Jack does the same, watching as more of the moonlight is blocked and a form seems to shimmer into focus. North grips the swords at his hips, recognizing the shadow originally shown. Whisper looks down at the ground, watching in awe as a shadow is slowly formed. Her shadow.

The winter spirit watches in confusion as a young adult comes into view, the woman staring at the shadow slowly stretching outwards from her feet. She looks up and sees the both of them staring at her. Silence reigns and North pulls out his swords, readying to fight. Jack holds his staff out in front of him, trusting in North's judgment. She can't be all that good if North is acting like this, he reasons.

The wind spirit turns back to look up at the moon. "Um yeah, I take it back, being invisible is better."


End file.
